Love And Laughter
by Cookie Pop
Summary: After Omega Flowey is defeated, it is clear to Frisk that she has no way of returning to the surface. She heads back to live with her friends in Snowdin and becomes the queen's adopted daughter. A few months later, another human falls, and she realises they aren't even half way through the story of men and monsters. Sensitive topics (e.g. depression). Read at own risk.
1. Prolouge

Mettaton rolled up the stairs with a bump, on his way to the MTT Resort, doing as bet as a metal rectangle could to yawn. He'd just come back from Alphys' lab, where he had stayed for the night when he'd forgotten the charger for his EX form. Last night, they'd talked about manufacturing a new confectionary called MTT Brand TonTons, named by the brilliant doctor herself.

On his way up, the first thing he saw was his most faithful and hard-working worker finding work unusually hard. "Oh, darling, do you need any help with that? You're bound to fall off that silly thing! Just let me do it." he said, wheeling his way over to the struggling child, before she had a chance to reply. He snatched the banner from her tiny, grubby hands, half-shoving her off the step-ladder as he flew up to put the decoration in place.

"You employed me to do it, so why won't you let me do it?" asked the girl.

"Darling, you know how I love to help!"

It was a week from New Year's, and the naive little girl had thought that she could use a step-ladder to hang the banner on the resort hotel sign. Unfortunately, this was an impossible feat, and this she knew - not even the highest heels could lift her that high - but simple facts couldn't stand a chance against Frisk's solid determination.

She rubbed her turned up nose and stared up at the metal box above her. He pinned up the banner, admiring the work that his employee was supposed to have done herself, and looked back at her, asking the first question that came to mind he saw her.

"Do you think the humans will like it?"

"What humans? There's only me, right?" Frisk asked, with a raised eyebrow. "Still, it doesn't matter what they think. You manage this place, so you can make it look however you like, can't you?"

Mettaton sighed. "It's a lot more than that, gorgeous. If the people don't like the look of it, then they won't come. If they won't come, I don't get money. If I don't get money...well, nothing really will happen; I already make a lot from the show - but yes, I won't get money and I'll probably sell the building to someone else."

"Oh. Yeah. Huh." said Frisk.

"But anyway, back to humans." Mettaton grinned, savouring the last word, wrapping his arm around the young girl's shoulder. "Look at that banner! Doesn't it just scream 'We can't wait for the new, human-filled year'?"

"Uh... I dunno." Frisk shrugged.

"What? What do you mean, you don't know? How can you not know?! You made the banner to appeal to the human race specifically! I don't know if it looks good; I'm not a human! So does it? You tell me!" huffed Mettaton.

"Hey, I was just tryina say that not all humans are the same." explained the child.

"Oh, are they not?"

"No. Do they like the banner? No one knows. Maybe they do like glitter and heart confetti? We're not all the same, see? We're all different."

"So you're telling me that you could've mashed anything together and at least one person would've loved it?" Mettaton asked.

"Hey, I'm not the human expert. I'm just one of them." she chuckled, starting to walk into the building. "C'mon, let me show you what I did. I'm sure you'll love it!"

"Yes, but will the humans love it, Frisk? It's all about the humans!"

"Just get in here and admire my work!"

"Hey! That's my line! Watch out, I'll sue you for plagiarising if you're not careful!"


	2. Mountain Of Avens

Frisk sunk into the comfort of the chair, watching Mettaton's performance intently. Lunchtime had just ended, and she had been spending most of the day at the Mettaton Resort, volunteering to help out as a waitress. Now, she took a lunch break; Papyrus had called her earlier on and told her to come to the ruins for a special surprise. 'I wonder what it is.' thought Frisk, eagerly leaping out of her seat at the notion. Collecting her dirty plates and dropping them off at the kitchen, Frisk left with a spring in her step and wandered off to the ruins.

"Hey, Papyrus!" Frisk grinned, walking into the kitchen. It hadn't taken long for her to come all the way back to the sweet house which juxtaposed the fear of the ruins.

"Ah! Human! I see you have come for your surprise!" the tall skeleton grinned.

"I'd love to see it! What is it?! What is it?!

"Alright, but we'll have to be quiet." He whispered, with a giggle.

Holding back her shouts of anticipation, Frisk took the skeleton's gloved hand and walked with him to a spare bedroom. The door creaked open, and Papyrus led his young friend into the room where the newest human slept.

Frisk gasped with glee and skipped towards the fifteen year old girl, who had her ginger, blonde and brown hair in a high ponytail. The girl's face was practically flawless - clearly well looked after - yet she owned no makeup and this lack of special effects somehow amplified her pure, utopian beauty instead of making it feel like there was something vital missing.

Papyrus knelt beside the bed, grinning at Frisk, ecstatically. She grinned back, brushing stray hairs from the girl's perfect, placid, peaceful face, revealing bandages very faintly stained with blood. "We think they hit their head on the way down." nodded Papyrus, upon noticing Frisk's quizzical expression. "They're sure to wake up soon enough; they must be almost done healing by now."

He reached under the bed and pulled out a big, turquoise, butterfly I themed backpack. "They brought this with them. They must've needed to bring a lot of stuff; its kinda heavy." Frisk took the bag, finding it to be much more weighty than expected, and dragging the zip - a poppy keyring - to see what was inside.

Unfortunately, the bag was so full that all of it's contents flooded the room in one massive explosion that could be heard far and wide, killing the silent atmosphere in an instant and waking the human from her salubrious slumber.

"Woops." Frisk blushed. "Hehe. Sorry."

With a bang and a crash, the interior of the human's bag had now been scattered across the scarlet room; a large tattered, A3 art pad hid underneath a wardrobe, a pair of colour-splattered headphones lay limp on the leather of the backpack's base, a see-through toiletries box - which contained an orange toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, a small comb, and a bunch of hair clips and bobbles - lounging about on Papyrus' lap and more. Frisk and Papyrus scrambled to get everything back where it belonged, but the human had already woken up, and was staring bewilderedly at the panicking pair.

Sitting slowly and rubbing her eyes, she spoke, with a yawn, "Hmm... Where... Where am I...?" Her eyes hadn't yet adjusted to the dark light; all she could see was two figures (one tall, one small) and the red, red rug with the tiny blocks of bright light, let in by the cracks in the door. She turned to her left and discovered a lamp, which she switched on, to uncover the identities of her intruding, nosey thieves. Panicking thoughts invaded Papyrus' mind, causing him to spinelessly shield himself with his frisky friend as the girl faced the two of them. "Um... What are you doing with my bag?" she asked, in a naturally quiet, almost inaudible voice.

The human was sitting under a great, olive green coat with a fluffy hood and numerous golden buttons. Her legs were protected by a pair of torn, unprotective denim jeggings and her socks were, by some means, spotlessly clean and white, while her muddy, black trainers lay at the side of the bed - by the looks of things, she had expected the area to be much colder than it actually was. The expression on her face was a mixture of annoyance and discombobulation.

"Erm... Er... Sorry," shrugged Frisk. "I guess curiosity kind of...took over me... Hehe."

The quiet human crossed her legs and looked around. "Okay." she said, nearly silently.

"I'm Frisk. We're the only humans down here. I've been living here for around two months now. What's your name? I don't think I've ever seen you before." the twelve year old said.

"I'm Kirsty...Poppy." Kirsty replied, shyly.

"GREETINGS, HUMAN!" yelled Papyrus, who had been watching quietly from behind Frisk's head the whole time. Kirsty flinched and Frisk let out a yelp, covering her ears in surprise. "I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, LEADER OF THE ROYAL GUARD! It is nice to meet you, Kirsty. I am sorry about your bag; we didn't know it had so much stuff in it."

"No, i-it's okay." said the teen. "I don't think you could've really broken anything."

"Phew! Good." sighed Frisk. "Anyway, how are you feeling? Better?" Kirsty nodded. "Good. You hit your head on the way down and fell unconscious. But, don't worry. Papyrus and Queen Toriel took care of you. I think you can take that bandage off now."

"Oh. Alright." nodded Kirsty, hesitantly removing the bandages and, to her delight, came to know that she had fully healed.

"Okay. Cool. Alright... Um... Can I ask you a question?" Frisk asked, rubbing the back of her neck as she sat down next to Kirsty.

"Sure." she replied, Papyrus sitting on her other side.

"Um... Were you...planning on...staying, or would you want to get back to your home as soon as possible?" said Frisk, sadly.

"Well... I kind of...ran away...so, I don't think I'll be leaving to any home at all if I do leave." Kirsty answered.

"Oh. Good, because if you wanted to leave...you'd kind of have to kill someone to do it... Ehehe."

"Oh... So... I'm trapped here?"

"Uh... Yeah."

"BUT YOU'RE TRAPPED WITH SOME REALLY COOL GUYS, SO IT'S NOT SO BAD!" beamed Papyrus, just managing to push a smile onto the new girl's face.

"Yeah... Hehehe..." sighed Kirsty.

"We started building houses in Snowdin and Waterfall not too long ago, but I don't think any of them are ready to live in yet, so would you like to live in my house until you get one of your own?" Frisk suggested, attempting to lighten the mood.

"THEN YOU'LL LIVE NEAR ME!" Papyrus exclaimed, happily.

"... Yeah, sure. 'Course I will." nodded Kirsty.

"Great! After we're done cleaning up this mess, we'll go to my house, straight after, okay?" Frisk asked.

Kirsty smiled lightly. "Okay."


	3. Just A Few Visitors

Fuelled by enthusiasm, Papyrus had spent most of the day running around the whole of the Underground, spreading the news of the fallen human, faster than lightning. Soon enough, monsters from far and wide were aware of the human Kirsty Poppy.

Most were overjoyed; the humans just sounded so amazing in the history books - whoever didn't like them must've been insane! - and since the rules had changed to embrace humans, they had every reason to be happy about their new friend. The few who weren't as excited didn't really care; all that mattered to them was their freedom (and seeing that they had none of that, nothing mattered at all).

Some monsters decided to visit the human. In no possible reality would the queen not be the first. When Frisk and Kirsty left to go to their house, Papyrus' immediate thought was to ring Toriel, as he knew she would be the happiest she'd ever been in her life to be one of the first few monsters to greet the human to their new home. Although she was already busy with her responsibilities, she instantly abandoned her work - leaving it begging on it's non-existent knees for her to come back as soon as possible - and raced off to find the humans.

Kirsty, after having the tour of her new home (a quaint bungalow not far from Papyrus' house), decided to stay in for the rest of the day, just to come to terms with the situation she had thrown herself into. When she was sitting in the blue lounge, in an armchair, reading a book, she was suddenly clawed out of her tranquil trance by a rapid knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" shouted Frisk, leaping from the bedroom to the front door, eagerly. The teen smiled.

She could just about hear the short conversation between a twelve year old human girl and a one hundred and fifty year old goat queen. From what she could tell from the way they spoke to each other, their relationship was tight and bore resemblance to that of a mother-daughter kind of bond.

Kirsty then heard the door slam shut and got back to reading, with a sigh of relief, but she bit her lip upon the sound of two pairs of footsteps approaching.

"Greetings, my child. I am Queen Toriel, and I welcome you to the Underground." said Toriel. Kirsty immediately jumped up, giving an elegant curtesy. "Oh, how polite!" The queen bowed back, with a giggle, as the young girl sat down. "I do hope you like it here. It looks like you're going to be here for a very long time, so you might as well enjoy it."

"Yes, I do like what I've seen so far." nodded Kirsty. "I'm going to go exploring tomorrow."

"Oh, that is great news!" exclaimed Toriel. "When I saw you, I couldn't believe how beautiful you were. You know, I think you're even more beautiful now that you're awake."

Yes, indeed, this girl was quite a pretty picture. With her great, big coat hung up at the door, they now could see the unzipped, neon green hoodie, which read 'GEEK'. Underneath was a purple, long-sleeved cardigan and a black shirt. "Thanks." Kirsty blushed.

Toriel then completely lost control, bombarding the fifteen year old with a multitude of questions, but Frisk quickly stopped her, saying that none of them really had the time. The queen chuckled, before waving goodbye and leaving the house to return to her work.

Kirsty took advantage of her short window of freedom, getting lost in her book and forgetting about absolutely everything else. However, it dawned on her that it would not be long at all before more curious monsters came, with more curious questions, and she would have to give more curious answers to those curious questions.

She didn't want that.

She'd like anything but that.

"... That's not what I came here for."

The next couple of monsters didn't seem that interesting - well, at least not as interesting as the great Papyrus, the other human, or Queen Toriel. Most just came to say hello and welcome, then left (exactly how Kirsty wanted them to, as she would prefer to have a chill day before she did any exploring, or friend-making). Monsters who were interesting included ones such as Muffet, who persuaded her into buying some pastries from her Spider Bake Sale, which Kirsty would absolutely adore spending lunch in. But, the last two monsters were definitely one of the most intriguing people she'd ever known.

"Kirsty," called Frisk, walking into the lounge. Kirsty paused the television, placed above a blazing fire, causing Mettaton to freeze in mid-air. "Is it okay if you come with me for dinner with Papyrus and Sans? Sans is his brother and I really want you to meet him."

"Um... Yeah, sure." smiled the teen.

"Great! Nice to know you're gonna be out of the house!" Frisk beamed, heading into the bedroom to prepare.

However, a gentle knock on the door, followed by a furious knock, which shook the whole house, proved this to only be possible if someone were to answer the door first. Frisk, enjoying the attention, raced to the door and unearthed a tall, muscular fish-like monster, accompanied by a short, shy, yellow lizard monster.

"Undyne! Doctor Alphys!" cheered Frisk.

'A doctor?' thought Kirsty, with a raised eyebrow. 'Why would they need a doctor?'

On the way to the house, and on the tour, Frisk had been teaching Kirsty about how the Underground worked. She learned that they wouldn't need to waste time eating food, as it simply replenishes their health straight away, so they wouldn't need things like doctors and nurses.

Frisk also educated her on the history of the Underground, about the war, the first fallen human, the prophecies, the six souls and Frisk's journey. Apparently, they needed seven human souls to break the barrier - the seal that kept them trapped down there - and Frisk was the seventh, so everyone wanted to kill her. But, she befriended them, and, when she was at the barrier, ready to leave, she quickly decided to live with them, rather than the other humans.

"Hey, punk!" Undyne said. "We heard there was another human. Alphys was dyin' to see 'em. She wouldn't stop askin' when we could go." She nudged Alphys, who blushed timidly in her lab coat. "So? Where is the little guy? We've been waitin' all afternoon to meet 'em!"

"She's just in the lounge, wa-" Frisk started, but was interrupted by a fish's strong hand in her face, pushing her out of the way.

Undyne dragged Alphys into the living room and their jaws dropped at the sight.

"Wow! A-another human! I-I've never seen one so...good l-looking!" the scientist stammered, she and her lover running over to touch her long, rainbow hair.

Kirsty stiffened. Having her hair touched reminded her of an impolite boy she despised in her previous life, who liked to touch her hair. However, she took a deep breath, decided that it was perfectly fine if girls wanted to touch her hair.

"Alright, alright! Give her some space!" said Frisk, stepping into the room.

"Oh, I'm s-so sorry!" Alphys apologised.

"Hehe. Sorry, punk. We got a little excited there." Undyne said. "Ya see, it's really hard to find unique things like you in this dump, so we kinda went a bit crazy... I like your hair."

"Me too." smiled Alphys.

"I think everybody likes Kirsty's hair." giggled Frisk. "She's like a diamond in the rough!"

"Thanks." Kirsty blushed.

"I'm Undyne, and this is my friend, Alphys. She's an awesome scientist and I'm her awesome lab assistant! I'm also a P.E. teacher. Did you know I can bench press seven children?!" grinned the blue, eyepatch-wearing fish.

"Um... No?" replied Kirsty.

It was at this time in the chat that she chose not to listen anymore. Scientists excited her, but very little. The conversation wasn't really absorbing until the subject of anime was somehow pulled into it.

"Wait... Anime?" asked Kirsty, leaning forward to check if what she heard was correct.

"Uh... Yeah... You l-like anime?" Alphys said.

"Um... Not really...but I do like to draw anime, if that counts." Kirsty answered.

Alphys' whole face lit up. "Wow! I love anime! I especially like to watch Mew Mew Kissy Cutie! Can I see your drawings?!" exclaimed the thrilled doctor.

"Uh... Yeah, okay, sure." Kirsty spoke, taking Alphys into the spacious bedroom and finding her art pad. Inside was at least fifty five fantastical pictures.

The style varied and they could clearly see when she was practising and when she was attempting to draw a hall-of-fame worthy sight. Sometimes, she practised drawing realistically - it didn't look half bad - but never for a proper piece.

"Wow! You're really good!" Alphys smiled broadly, flicking through the pages.

Soon, she found an anime Papyrus, sitting alongside a beaming Frisk - parts of it had already been coloured. On the next page was Queen Toriel, in a magnificent, majestic outfit.

Alphys looked up. "Can you...draw me?" she asked, hopefully. Kirsty took out a pencil and a rubber from a bulging pencil case.

"Of course." she replied, happily.

Frisk and Undyne watched from afar, smiling triumphantly. "Good to see they're having a nice time together." they chimed, before laughing their heads off at how perfect their timing was.


	4. Dinner With A Skeleton

"Wow! Amazing! I-I wish I could d-draw like you!" Alphys exclaimed, staring in awe at the sight.

"If you stick around long enough, you may even get to see the finished product as it's being made!" beamed Kirsty.

"As much as I'd love Alphys to stay, she better not be too long; me and Kirsty are going-" Frisk said.

Kirsty intervened at once, informing her that "it's not 'me and Kirsty'. It's Kirsty and I."

"... Yeah. Right. Kirsty and I are going for dinner at the MTT Resort."

"Yeah, I'm gettin' kinda bored, sitting around, watching Mettaton. Let's go home, Alphys. I'm gettin' hungry!" Undyne moaned, pulling her lizard lover out of the house.

"Oh. I guess I don't really have a choice. B-bye, Kirsty! I hope I s-see you again soon!" Alphys yelled.

"Bye, Alphys! Bye, Undyne!" shouted Kirsty, waving goodbye as the door closed with a bang.

"Alright, Ms Kirsty Poppy, we better get ready, 'cause we're not just going for dinner at the Mettaton Resort; we're going with Papyrus and Sans." said Frisk, pulling Kirsty onto her feet.

"Oh, cool. I like Papyrus. He's really nice." smiled the girl, letting down her hair and brushing it thoroughly.

"I'm glad you like him. You'll probably like Sans, too. He's real funny." the almost teen grinned.

"Really? Cool! I like funny people." Kirsty commented.

"Well, in that case, let's not waste time, talking!"

Soon enough, the humans were in a more formal state, ready for dinner with skeletons. They smelled like lovely lavender, owned two sets each of pearly white gnashers and and had low, tied-back, brown hair.

Frisk took Kirsty through the snow, past several houses, to a nearby river.

Hovering on the water was a small boat, just big enough for five people, and on it sat a hooded figure, who spoke, "Tralala. Where to today, humans?"

"Hotlands, please." Frisk said, sitting on the boat with Kirsty.

"Tralala. Hotlands it is then." the figure replied. The boat took off at a satisfactory speed, right away.

"Hotlands?" asked Kirsty.

"Yeah. There's the Ruins (where humans fall), Snowdin (where we live), Waterfall (where Undyne lives), Hotlands (where the MTT Resort is) and Tori's Castle (where the queen lives, of course). Hotlands is, obviously, very hot - so you might wanna take off that massive coat - and there lava - try not to fall in." Frisk explained, taking off Kirsty's winter coat.

"Alright. Sounds fun."

Soft, tepid waves slowed to a stop as the boat ride shortly ended. Frisk and Kirsty climbed out and thanked the figure kindly.

The abrupt change in atmosphere caught Kirsty off guard. She had gone from being so cold that her breath came out in great clouds of smoke like a dragon, shivering as she took each step and watching as she turned into Kirsty The Red-nosed Human to being so hot that she had the sudden urge to strip off completely - which she would have, had there not've been people strolling along the sweltering streets. Kirsty now started to sweat and she took off her GEEK jacket, tying it around her waist.

"Haha!" laughed Frisk. "I told you it was hot!"

"I don't think I like this heat." the teen chuckled. "I hope it's not this hot in the resort."

"Oh, nah. They're kind enough to have air conditioning." Frisk clarified, giggling happily as her friend breathed a sigh of relief.

The two of them walked along the rocky path, chatting about people and places, dodging the bursts and bubbles of lava that the pools shot at them, making their way towards the hotel - a large, blue building, which read 'MTT' above the glass door. Unprecedented changes in the air became frequent to Kirsty; she made a mental not to always expect the unexpected. The cool breeze from Snowdin had followed her to the resort like a dog to it's caring owner and this fact lifted their spirits (and their coats onto the trustworthy coat hanger near the entrance). Wet from the overflowing Mettaton fountain, the floor they danced over was a perfect, brilliant gold. The only thing terrible about the place was the staff; an orange cat cashier could be seen stealing money from the till, not even trying to be subtle or secretive about it.

Frisk took Kirsty to him, asking if he'd seen two skeletons pass through.

He replied with, "Yeah. A tall one and a short one. You with them, little buddy?"

"Yeah, we are. Thanks, BP." said Frisk, dragging Kirsty away.

"Any time, little buddy." he nodded.

"'BP'?" asked the teen.

"It stands for Burger Pants. That's what everybody calls 'im. Don't ask why." Frisk chortled.

"Well, what's his real name?"

"Er... Dunno."

The restaurant had a stage at one wall and a multitude of round tables in a range of sizes. Neat tablecloths were thrown onto them, cutlery set out tidily, chairs tucked in, a single candle on every surface - 'This is certainly a place worth admiring.' thought Kirsty.

"There they are!" Frisk pointed out. What with there being only a few people in the room and the monsters in question were having trouble with not standing out, there was really no need to point them out, 'but, whatever floats your boat, I guess.' shrugged Kirsty. "Hey, Papyrus! Hey, Sans!" There, right in front of the stage, sitting next to each other at a table for four, was Papyrus and his brother, Sans.

Papyrus was still in his 'battle body' - a red scarf, red gloves and red boots - a kind of formal outfit. His brother, on the other hand, was quite the opposite - everything-wise, apart from the fact that they're both skeletons, of course. Sans was short and wore a blue hoodie, a white sweater, a pair of black and white, striped shorts and sneakers. He leaned back in his chair, half-asleep, while Papyrus sat politely upright.

When they heard the humans coming, Papyrus waved excitedly. Sans lifted an eyelid, then the other. His eyes - if he had any - widened.

"Papyrus," he whispered. "you said she was pretty, but I had no idea she was this...beautiful."

"She is, isn't she? Quite a pretty picture." Papyrus nodded in agreement.

The humans took their seats at the table, Kirsty shuffling the cutlery about until she saw it fit her liking. She looked Sans up and down, deciding that he was just another person to add to the Crowd Of Gawping People.

"Hello, humans!" grinned Papyrus. "I was wondering when you were going to come."

"Sorry if we were late." Frisk apologised.

"Actually, I think it was just that they were a bit early." explained Kirsty.

"Ah." said Frisk. "Well, in that case, not sorry."

"Oh... Um... I didn't... Okay." Kirsty stammered.

"Hehe. It's okay. It was a joke, yeah?" said Frisk.

"Uh... Yeah." replied Kirsty.

"So, anyway, Kirsty, this is Sans. Sans, this is Kirsty. She's the newest human, but you probably already knew that. Go ahead, Kirsty, shake his hand." urged Frisk, grinning at the skeleton. Sans offered the girl his hand, but she was quick enough to uncover the prank, pointing out a hidden whoopsie cushion.

"Heh. You're pretty observant, huh?" he laughed, stuffing the failed joke in his pocket and properly shaking her hand, forgetting to let go.

"Thanks... Can I have my hand back now?" asked Kirsty, shyly.

His grip was firm, yet kind. She almost enjoyed it.

"What...? Er... Oh. Yeah, sure." Sans let go, faintly blushing.

"Sans!" Papyrus hissed. "Don't embarrass yourself in front of the human! At least try to make a good first impression!" Sans shrugged, staring at his hand.

"Yeah, Sans is pretty good at the jokes. Do you know any good ones?" asked Frisk.

"Um... Knock knock." said Kirsty.

"Oh, God! Please, don't!" cried Papyrus.

"Who's there?" Sans asked, ignoring Papyrus' begging.

"To." Kirsty replied.

"To who?"

"No, it's 'to whom', actually."

Frisk and Sans chuckled; Papyrus rolled his eyes, scowling. "That was a good one!" Frisk cheered. "I'm not as good at telling jokes as Sans is. Why don't you tell one?"

"Uh... Erm... I..." stuttered Sans, at a loss for words.

However, before he could say anything, his younger brother called to a waiter and ordered the staff to surprise them. He said, crossing his arms, that he "just had to put an end to the disgusting topic", as it was making him more and more uncomfortable.

Papyrus and Frisk then began talking non-stop about food and the cooking lessons with Undyne. Apparently, Undyne and Frisk - but mostly Undyne - had set her whole house ablaze when they were cooking spaghetti together (turns out, the final product wasn't actually half bad). She then had to live with Papyrus and Sans until her house was put back together again. They had a lot of fun.

At this point, Kirsty chose to switch off again. She allowed herself to daydream as she waited for an MTT Meal. The imaginative cogs in her brain whirred into motion, running as quick as a nice cube in Hell.

The images of future sleepovers with her future besties, Alphys and Frisk, roamed the vast complexity of her mind. They attacked each other with playful pillow fights, toyed with subjects not to be messed about with, roasted marshmallows over the fire in the lounge, played truth or dare, and talked about cute boys (or girls) they took an interest in, all whilst having a whale of a time - and whales do make some noise, so, of course, they did too. Bang! Slam! Boom! Clap! No one got rest on the nights they spent together (not even them).

Was there any better way to have a sleepover with your possible BFFs? Ah, yes! Movies! Now this was a practically perfect party. And, if it wasn't, Kirsty was filled with perseverance to make sure it was.

As her mind wandered, so did her eyes - they, themselves, seemed to have a mind of their own. They drifted about the room, travelling from the ceiling to the floor, from the cutlery to the door, and from one person to the other. Soon, Kirsty found herself staring blankly at Sans, who sat opposite her, staring back. It felt as if they were having a staring contest, but neither really cared for winning. They stayed like this for almost a minute, before Kirsty managed to shake herself out of the magic spell, without stopping to wonder if their moment meant anything.

Frisk found Kirsty sitting on the cream sofa, looking into the fire in her pyjamas.

The evening had gone smoothly. The food was delicious and she hadn't spoken much, but how could she when others kept babbling about somewhat unrelated subjects? Sans held her hand on the way to Snowdin, but she no one ever thought anything of it. Papyrus and Frisk held hands, so why couldn't they?

Her hair was freely falling down her shoulders, her fringe persistent to veil her sleepy, emerald green eyes. She hugged her knees, mesmerised by the dancing flames, letting out a tired yawn as Frisk sat beside her.

"So, what do you think?" asked the twelve year old. "Of the Underground, I mean."

"Good." Kirsty replied. "I'll explore it tomorrow. It seems interesting, all these different places. I bet there'll be different people there... They're all really different...really confident...not afraid to be who they are... That's my favourite part..."


	5. Tell Your World

Frisk stretched and yawned, pushing away the covers. She stared up at the ceiling, before sitting on the edge of the bed, gazing out the window at the snowy footpath. She looked over at Kirsty's bed. It was empty and untidy. Deciding that she should search for her roommate, Frisk stood slowly, walking over to the wardrobe and replacing her dark blue nightie with her striped shirt and blue jeans.

She slipped into the lounge in her bare feet and stared at what her strange friend was doing. Sitting cross legged on the cream couch, Kirsty wore her colour-splattered headphones and her pink, cat onesie, writing in what appeared to be a diary.

"Morning, Kirsty." smiled Frisk.

"Morning, Frisk." said Kirsty.

"'The Stuff And Nonsense Of A Human Girl'? Is that your diary?"

"Uh... Yeah." Kirsty blushed.

"... How long have you been up?" asked Frisk, looking at the clock on the wall. "Seven..."

"Um..." She stared at the corner of the room, sticking her tongue out while she thought. "Since five o' five."

"Really?"

"Uh huh."

"Did you eat any breakfast?"

"Uh... I-" Her impatient stomach roared angrily. "No."

"Heh. It's alright. I've got some leftover butterscotch-cinnamon pie Toriel gave me, or you can have Tem Flakes Breakfast Cereal."

"Uh... I think I'll just have the Tem Flakes." Kirsty nodded.

"Right."

Frisk walked into the kitchen, opening an frosted, snow-stained, winter morning window pane, staring at the icy cold of the outside world, filling her lungs with the fresh, dawning air as she poured two bowls of the odd Tem Flakes and set them down on the table. Kirsty, removing her headphones and resting on one of the round, wooden stools, began eating her breakfast, which did not take long to do at all. The diary she had left open on the arm of her chair and the headphones lying beside it. "So," Frisk said, "where are you gonna start? When you're exploring the place, which direction do you wanna go in?"

"Um..." Kirsty stopped and thought, fingering the intricate spoon design of spiralling roses and lilies. "I think I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

"Good answer." nodded Frisk, with a chuckle.

A gentle breeze blew through their wisps of brown hair, calm and quiet in the streets of Snowdin. Coated in a great, green fluff creature, Kirsty wandered down the icy path, turning right towards the ruins. They were surrounded by frosty, green trees, some of which still with Christmas decorations hung on them.

"Christmas was three months ago." Kirsty stated, picking a small, red bauble from the nearest tree and thrusting it in Frisk's face.

"Well, what can I say? It's just hard for them to...let it go." the twelve year old joked, winking and pulling a proud, triumphant smirk that seemed to grow beyond the limits of her slightly dark-skinned face. Kirsty rolled her eyes. "What's with the face? I'm sorry; I just couldn't conceal it! I just had to let it go!"

Like a prince rescuing a princess, Frisk's jokes broke through her friend's shy barrier that cut her off from the world and the teen couldn't resist adding another one in, just for fun. "Heh. This is probably the first time that a Frozen reference has been recognised in this place - maybe even the first time in...forever!"

Frisk burst out into fits of laughter. "Hahaha! It's a good thing I've got another human with me, 'cause nobody else woulda gotten those jokes!"

"Yeah...! But, seriously, Christmas was two - almost three - months ago. It'll be Valentines Day pretty soon."

"True, yes," nodded Frisk, hanging the bauble back up on the tree, "but I know they'll be quick enough to redecorate in time."

No more than a few steps away from the house was wolf-looking creature, throwing giant cubes of ice into the river beside him.

"Hey, Frisk, what's he doing?" asked Kirsty, g closer to the picket fence that kept him in a small box - or rather, kept others out.

"He throws the ice cubes down the river that leads to the Core to cool it down. It's a big machine that gives the whole of the Underground it's magical electricity. That's why we have computers and lights and that. It's in between the MTT Resort and the castle." Frisk explained.

"Cool." Kirsty remarked, with a small smile.

"Ha! We're on fire today!" the twelve year old chuckled.

Frisk shadowed her companion, playing a game of Only Walk In The Other Person's Footprints, as they passed a bar named Grillby's. "That's Grillby's. Sans goes there all the time." Frisk commented. "... But he never pays his tab, even though it's likely he already has the money for it." Through the shop window, they could see a variety of monsters - for example, a family of dogs sitting in the far corner, and the lone bartender - a literal fire man - stood taking an order from a Snowdrake - with a figure strikingly similar to that of an extremely large snowflake. "Maybe Grillby's just really nice? I mean, he's a real good cook - if you like grease - and serves it up pretty quickly. It's my favourite place to eat...mainly because I like grease." Frisk chuckled.

"Heh. Yeah. Maybe he just likes his job and enjoys it so much that he doesn't even mind if he gets payed or not." Kirsty suggested, with a smile.

Frisk beamed back at her, overjoyed at the fact that she's finally speaking her mind. She'd imagined it to be a lot tougher than this, but it really didn't matter if it was hard or easy; she possessed an extreme lust for challenge and would never say never to a test or trial.

The two of them continued to walk through the snow, staring out at the scenery. They travelled past an inn, a shop, a colourful Welcome To Snowdin sign, a vast amount of puzzles - that Frisk had told Kirsty, on the way to her house, Papyrus and Sans had made for the humans who fell - and stopped when they reached a sentry station. Sitting behind it, as still as a statue and lost in thought as he gazed at the ceiling, was their short, pun-loving friend, Sans the skeleton.

"Hey, Sans!" smiled Frisk, sitting on the counter of his station. It took a few seconds for him to realise that there were other people in the area, and as soon as he did, he fell off of his chair, startled by what appeared to be a teleporting pre-teen. "Woah! You okay?"

"Kid, don't sneak up on people like that." he exclaimed, climbing back up onto his seat.

"Sorry, Sans. I didn't mean to. Is something bothering you?" asked Frisk.

"Well..." Sans looked around and noticed Frisk's companion - whom he hadn't spotted before in his dreamy trance - sitting down on the other side of the counter, giving her legs a bit of a rest. "It's nothing." he said, with a shake of his head.

But Frisk picked up on this strange behaviour. He looked like he hadn't slept at all last night. 'No, it's definitely something. I've known you for three months and you're always sleeping.' she thought. 'You don't look like you've had any sleep. That's not you... I think I'll keep quiet about it, for now.'

"Anyway, Kirsty's exploring the Underground, with me as her guide. Wanna come with?" Frisk suggested.

"Uh... Yeah, sure, kid. I'll help ya a skele-tonne." Sans nodded, with a grin.

"Haha! Okay. Onwards! To the Ruins!" Frisk beamed, skipping off to her next destination, leaving Sans and Kirsty alone together as she went on ahead.


	6. Fallen

"So... We got a new friend." said Chara, appearing out of thin air, floating in the air at Frisk's side. "Finally! I was waiting for another one to come. You're the only real person I've been around in a long time."

Chara was a thirteen year old girl only Frisk could see. When Frisk fell, she woke Chara from the dead, because her determination was so strong. She was her guide, though not a very good one at times. She led her through the Underground as she made her way to the surface (who knows what would've happened to her if Frisk had somehow made it out?) because she had lived there once.

She was the first human to fall. The king's son, Asriel, found her and his family adopted her. She lived with them for a few years until she couldn't bear to see them trapped anymore. They conjured up a plan to escape, but their plan failed. She and Asriel had died, and she was buried on the buttercup bed where all humans fell.

"Oh! I haven't seen you in a while. Where've you been?" asked Frisk.

"Eh, you know me, always sleepin'. Got nothin' else to do if I'm not really here, have I?" Chara spoke, flying above Frisk's head.

"Why don't you appear much anymore?" Frisk questioned.

"Well, if I like to sleep for days on end, I'd rather not have you waking me up when you want to talk to someone of your own species." Chara replied.

"Well, sleep less, please. I kinda feel alienated sometimes." Frisk frowned.

"When did you wake up?"

"When you were taking her to our house." Chara pointed at Kirsty and Sans. "I'm kinda annoyed that she's stolen my bed, actually."

"You're a ghost. You can just sleep in the air like you always do." Frisk giggled.

"And you think I like not being able to feel alive?"

"Fair point." shrugged the child. "What do you think of having more humans around? I can't wait for other more to join us! We'll expand the whole thing, and have humans living all over the place! Humans and monsters, living together in peace again!" Frisk beamed.

Chara turned around and looked at the two behind them.

"... Don't you think she's a bit weird?" Chara asked.

"Um... Chara, you think everyone's weird." said Frisk, shaking her head.

"No, she's a different weird..."

The undead girl floated towards Kirsty, stopping a few steps away, as a force that wanted to keep her and Frisk stuck together halted her in her tracks almost a kilometre away from her 'owner' and gradually dragging her back, like a dog on an extremely long leash. She squinted her chocolate brown eyes, staring at the older girl.

If she concentrated hard enough, she was able to see certain things about people - their Hit Points, Attack, Defence, weapons and armour - and could also see a faintly glowing soul. However, whenever she looked down at herself, no matter how hard she tried, she saw no soul at all. For example, she could see that Kirsty's Attack and Defence levels were unusually high for someone who seemed so harmless.

"I've been watching her, and...she's...not like us...or the monsters." Chara declared, causing Frisk to raise an eyebrow at her statement. "I've seen awkwardly quiet monsters, but none of them have really been just as strange as her, that Kirsty girl."

"Oh, Chara, you're probably just acting like this 'cause you haven't seen humans in a long time and you're only used to seeing how monsters are like, just like how you acted when you first saw me. You thought I was really weird, didn't you?" Frisk suggested.

"But you are!" cried Chara.

"Hahaha!" laughed Frisk. "You're the only weirdo around here, my imaginary friend!"

"Ugh!" Chara moaned, rolling her eyes. "You don't get it though... Her soul's purple, but...she doesn't look very persistent to me... I think she might be hiding something."

"Chara, look, Kirsty is just like us: a perfectly normal human being...or at least I think she is." Frisk said, pulling her companion along with her as she tugged at the large, heavy door.

Chara sighed, letting her brown boots soundlessly touch the snow, as she started to walk back to Frisk. "... Heh... Yeah... You keep tellin' yourself that..."

"Are you...enjoying it here?" asked Sans, at a loss for words yet again.

"Uh... Yeah. It's...nicer than I'd imagined it to be." Kirsty replied.

"Is it...better than the surface?"

"... Well... I think they're equally amazing. Down here, it's really pretty and all the people are friendly; on the surface, the views are incredible. The people there...are...a bit...um..." Kirsty paused, fiddling withe zip of her coat with her left hand and staring anxiously at the snow crunching beneath their feet. "Just... Never mind. They're nice too."

"Hey! Sans! Kirsty! You coming or what?" called Frisk, waving for them to quicken the pace.

"Sorry, kid. Some of us people like to take it 'snowly' here. Heh." Sans chuckled, winking at the humans. He was happy to see that he put a smile on Kirsty's shy face and caused Frisk to let out a small giggle.

"Yeah, chill, Frisk." Kirsty said. "When did anyone say we had to be so nippy about it? Definitely not me."

"Wow! Haha! Look at you two...!" Frisk answered. "But, seriously, can we get going now, guys? This door is super heavy, and my tiny arms can hold something that weighs this much no longer!"

"Oh, use your determination!" laughed Kirsty, taking Sans' arm as she began to race towards her best friend. "Hehe!"


	7. Ruins

The large door slid gradually slid shut behind the squad with a loud bang. Their slow steps echoed throughout the dark hallway. The four of them walked side-by-side (Chara was an exception, however, sitting on Kirsty's shoulders mischievously), listening to the tiny sounds of itsy-bitsy spider feet pitter-pattering across the floor. It was so quiet that they could hear a pin drop without difficulty.

As they advanced down the dark corridors, they heard in the distance the very faint sound of bone to crockery. Chara flew off to follow the sound, filled with intrigue.

"Heh." said Sans, picking up on the distant noise. "I should probably tell you that since Toriel returned as queen, she didn't have enough time to constantly be here, waiting for another human to fall, so she needed a replacement. And who better than the captain of the Royal Guard? So my bro, Papyrus, has taken the job. And ever since, I've barely seen 'im at all."

"But he loves it here." Frisk added. "Every time I've seen him here, he's always had a smile on his face! And even with all the weight of the standing around doing nothing, his job as a Royal Guard and everything else, like our every other Tuesday meals together, he still manages to get Sans out of bed in the morning!" Kirsty let out a wall giggle at that.

"I know I wouldn't. Not even if he was nice to me - which he probably wouldn't be." Chara chortled, doing backflips in the air. Frisk pulled a face, which only made Chara laugh even more.

"Yeah, my bro's pretty cool, huh?" Sans grinned.

"Not." Chara added.

"Uh huh." beamed Kirsty.

It didn't take long for the four - with Chara leading, though only Frisk knew - to travel through the violet cellar and up the stairs to the kitchen, where The Great Papyrus stood making yet another plate of spaghetti.

"Oh! Hello, humans! Have you come to see how the spaghetti's going? I must admit, Lady Asgore's help certainly does make a big difference!" Papyrus beamed as the small group stepped into the kitchen.

"Lady Asgore?" Kirsty questioned, curiously.

"That's just what he calls Toriel, because she looks like her dead ex husband. Don't ask." Frisk explained, jumping up onto the counter beside the tall skeleton.

"Ah. Sans. What are you doing? Slacking off work again?" Papyrus asked.

"Actually, I'm doing my work right now." Sans protested, pulling a proud face.

"And what's that?"

"I'm showing this human around. She's new and needs to know where everything is."

"Yeah! We're exploring!" Frisk grinned, throwing her arms in the air.

"Well, if that's the case, carry on." Papyrus said. "I need to get back to my spaghetti."

"Alright. We won't bother you then." Frisk smiled.

"But-bye!" waved Kirsty.

"This is where I fell?" Kirsty asked, gazing up at the distant sun. The four of them stood on the golden flowerbed, after traversing the whole of the Ruins together.

Sans glanced down and noticed the bloodstains from yesterday. "Uh... It probably is, 'cause I don't think this is my blood." Sans commented. "Frisk, is this blood yours?"

"Nope." Frisk replied, shaking her head. "It's either that or you've been here with some ketchup."

Kirsty looked down at the dry, red spillage. "Yeah, I think it's mine." she stated, monotonously.

"Whilst her body is in the Underground, her mind is clearly somewhere else." said Chara. "Definitely weird. Talk to her for me."

Frisk rolled her eyes at Chara, and stepped towards Kirsty. "Is something on your mind?"

Kirsty studied the room before looking back at the sun again. "I was...thinking about home..."

"... Did you have a family there?" Frisk asked.

"... Yeah. My mom, my dad and my sister..." she sighed.

"Did you have friends?"

"Yeah." She said. Her eyes wandered around the room.

"Oh... Sorry. I had a few friends in the orphanage in my village. They weren't really very good ones, but they were enter than the people at the school."

Kirsty stayed silent. So did the others. They all stood for a few minutes in silence. Just thinking. Just reflecting.

Kirsty's thoughts were filled with memories of family and friends; Frisk's were of all the people who would be wishing she was still there right now - little Lily, the young autistic girl she always stood up for when she was being bullied; Abigail, whom she admired dearly. Old friends were replaced by new ones when Frisk had arrived at the Underground, never to be remembered again. This was the first time she had actually looked back on her life before the fall.

Chara, like Frisk and Kirsty, also thought back to how many people would be missing them at the moment, and what they would be doing right now. Would they even still be alive? How long had it been? No one could tell. They were in the dark about almost anything down here? "Abandon all hope, he who enter here." she muttered.

Sans, however, could only dream of what the surface could've been like. He had only ever seen pictures of it in books and things he'd seen from the dump, where random rubbish from the surface came down from a long waterfall and collected in the Underground at the dump. Still, the pictures were only pictures and although they painted a thousand words, it only showed a fraction of the Earth's true identity.

Kirsty was the first to turn back, after a long period of Surface Thought. Eventually, the others followed - first Chara, then Frisk, and then Sans - and the live buttercup in the corner that Kirsty had spotted earlier on waited for the very last moment to tag along.


	8. Alone Together

The team moved quickly through Snowdin, passing the local shop - stopping for brunch: three cinnamon bunnies and two bisicles - a handy inn, Sans and Papyrus' two storey house, and a library, with the word library spelt incorrectly, making small comments on the history or opinions of places. Eventually, they skipped over the fog-inhabited bridge that kept Snowdin and Waterfall together.

The scenery changed from cold yet warm to tranquil yet ominous. In the Underground, names never lied, for it was absolutely brimming with waterfalls. Water was all over the place, streams flowing on both sides of the navy path and falling from the damp, dark ceilings into small puddles and ponds where fish and other creatures swam. 'Stars' on the ceiling (white, glowing rocks, lodged into the stone above) and small, cyan mushrooms that shone dimly, littered about the roads were the only things that lit up the dusky place as the travellers strolled through.

They soon came to one of Sans' many sentry stations. Across from it was a tall, blue flower that interested Kirsty greatly.

"Hey, what's that flower thing?" she asked, standing over it.

"Hey, what's that flower thing?" it echoed, mimicking every aspect of the girl's voice, causing her to leap back in confusion.

"No need to be afraid." Frisk giggled. "That's just an echo flower. It echoes the last thing it heard, over and over and over." And it did just that, replaying Frisk's exact words without fail.

"Really?" Kirsty stopped and thought for a moment. "So, anything I said would be copied by the flower?"

"Yeah. Tell it anything: your name, your age, your thoughts, secrets, anything. It'll always repeat it." said Sans.

"Cool." Kirsty remarked, moving on to the next place.

The next room held a box, left by a lovely box lover, and definitely the biggest waterfall in Waterfall, rushing down and down into the darkness.

"Careful; last time I came here, there were rocks falling from that big platform above us." Frisk said, jumping into the water, splashing her companions and making them look like they'd just decided to follow in The Great Papyrus' great footsteps and showered in their clothes. "Hahaha!"

"Haha! Yeah, Frisk!" cheered Chara, landing on her front as she threw herself into the stream, staring at all of the water-bound creatures going about their day, unaware of the contained danger of the threateningly close human.

"Oh, Frisk!" moaned Kirsty.

"Eh. It'll dry when we reach Hotland." Sans reassured her, chuckling at what a mess Frisk had made. Kirsty rolled her eyes and carefully stepped across the lively ground.

Before Sans began to shadow the newbie once again, Frisk grabbed the hood of his jacket. "Huh? Yeah, kid?" he asked, halting.

"Hey, Sans. You look kind of...sleepy." Frisk grinned. "You're never sleepy. You sleep more than you make jokes, and you do make a lot of jokes. Have anything to say about that?"

"Uh... I had trouble getting to sleep last night." Sans shrugged, removing Frisk's hand from his clothing and turning to start following Kirsty (who was already out of sight with Chara, the two of them having fun encountering the tall grass) again, but Frisk blocked him.

"But you never have trouble sleeping. You can sleep at any place or time without trouble. Wanna explain that?" Frisk raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms triumphantly.

Sans thought for a moment on what to say next and sighed, defeated. He looked behind Frisk at where Kirsty's silhouette stood. "I couldn't stop thinking about her." he said, pointing in her direction.

Frisk's eyes widened and she gasped, letting out an awfully long "Aaaaaaawwwwwwwww! Sans! That's adorable! Oh my god! I'm gonna-"

"Hey!" Sans protested, cutting her off. Frisk clasped her hands over her mouth. "Don't tell anyone, okay, kid? I didn't tell anyone about your crush on Papyrus, did I?" The young girl shook her head, blushing, and made a gesture as if she was zipping her mouth closed. "Good. Now, where has she wandered off to?"

Sans and Frisk went after Kirsty and Chara, who were solving the first Bridge Seed puzzle, where they had to put the Bridge Seeds in a certain pattern for a bridge to form across the water. Frisk skipped to the other side of the second flower bridge and looked at Kirsty, quickly throwing a sorry look on her face. She had devised a plan in that it took them to finish the final seed puzzle.

"Aw, Kirsty, Sans, I'm so sorry." Frisk pouted. "I just remembered, I have to go to work today."

"Oh." Kirsty said.

Sans glared at Frisk. All she did in reply was grin innocently.

"Yeah, that means it'll just be you and Sans on this little adventure." she shrugged. "Well, I'll see ya soon then."

"See ya, Frisk." waved Kirsty, as Frisk ran ahead, smiling mischievously at Sans on her way out.

"Welp, I guess it's just you and me then, huh?" Sans spoke.

"Yeah." Kirsty sighed, walking on.

The calming sound of flowing water filling the area with tranquility, the pair wandered on to the next room. Meanwhile, racing to the nearest water-taxi, Frisk fished around in her deep pockets for her phone and started ringing.

It went to voicemail. "Sorry, darling! The fabulous Mettaton is not available at the moment, but I'd love to hear whatever it is you want to say, so just leave a message after the beep!" Beeeeeep!

Frisk took a short, sharp breath, and put on a voice that made her sound "Hey, Mettaton! I'm really sorry, but I'm kind of ill. Yeah, I messed up when I was making some food last night and now I am suffering the consequences. I won't be in today; I won't be anywhere but in my bed. So sorry. See ya when I'm feeling better! Bye!" After her message was sent, she sent a text to Alphys, telling her that she was on her way to the lab and added three mischievous winking emojis on the end.

Sans and Kirsty, on the other hand, were going slower than the snails in the local snail farm (no, actually, those snails, unlike others, are not actually that slow, so you can scrap that idea immediately), enjoying the scenery: a long, dark, blue hallway, an abundance of adorning, aqua echo flowers on the ground. The plants babbled back and forth to each other, over and over, words that were once something turned into nonsensical nothingness in all the confusion.

There was a sign hung on the left wall: 'WISHING ROOM', it said. The millions of sparkling stones on the dusky ceiling, Kirsty guessed, acted as stars, for them to wish upon. She and Sans both made secret, silent wishes under their breaths and hoped that none of the echo flowers had caught what the said - even though, if they were, they would've been drowned out by all of the other wishes that other people had made before them.

They continued walking in silence, reading the ancient words of the murals as they passed from room to room. The bullrushes in the swayed in the soft breeze as they crossed large, open wooden bridges and the tall grass was pushed aside as Kirsty thought back to when she used to play in the grass with her older sister on holidays when she was younger.

Sans stopped her in the next room. "Hey," he said, half dragging her into a small room with nothing in it, "can we stop a minute? We've been walkin' for what feels like hours."

"We have been walking for hours." Kirsty giggled, staring around at the calming setting, a small, tranquil haven for people who like quiet rooms, dimly lit by the glowing mushrooms and rocks. To be truthful, now that she thought about it, Sans had been behind her all the time, shuffling along slowly. He must not have liked that, moving that much, and for so long too. He sat down in the corner of the room, finding a comfy spot.

"Ya know what? I'm just gonna take a little nap, if you're alright with that." Sans said, leaning his head against the wall, either not bothered at all about its dampness, or excellent at hiding it.

"Oh, I don't mind." Kirsty nodded. She did mind a little bit, but she also didn't like to look rude or controlling. "Not at all."

The girl sat down beside him, legs crossed. As someone who had only napped when they were a baby, after a sleepover where she didn't do any sleeping, or when she had literally nothing else to do at that time, she didn't really like the idea of napping with Sans - who had drifted off before she knew it, sleeping so peacefully. She sat alone with her thoughts for a while, thinking about what her friends at school would be doing right now (it was a Wednesday, so they'd probably be doing P.E. and thinking about the current lesson, not her) before she realised that her companion wasn't going to wake up any time soon and she was actually a little bit sleepy herself. So, coming to the conclusion that she had no other options, she lay her head on his shoulder and soon drifted off to Dreamland too.


	9. Good Food And Good Friends

Kirsty awoke with a yawn and stared at the ground. It looked like she'd done a few things she didn't remember doing, like falling asleep, or holding Sans in her arms. Sans was still in his nap. She decided not to wake him; he looked adorable in his sleep. The grass was soft beneath her bare feet as she managed to stand up without waking up her friend - taking off her white socks and black trainers was another thing she didn't remember doing. How long had she been asleep? No one could tell.

She stood for a while, leaning against the wet wall until she became aware of a pain in her stomach. How long had it been since she'd eaten? It must've already gone past lunch time now. She had to get food.

Stepping out of the room, Kirsty started her search for something to eat. She inspected a nearby box. Nothing but a long, pink ribbon. Was that something she could eat? No. Probably not.

The path of fate drew her to a stone bridge to the east. The water that surrounded her was see-through, transparent - so much so that she could see the riverbed crystal clear. She heard the near sound of a piano being played. It pulled her across the earth; music was always a good sign for her. Turning left, the teen found a large, fish-looking house that seemed to be the source of the sound. Through the window, she could see Undyne and Alphys. She chose not to talk to Undyne. Kirsty sighed and moved on to the next corridor.

She hadn't seen any people so far. They'd all be indoors, having lunch. Maybe she could find someone who wasn't scary, anime-loving, or sleeping. And, to her astonishment, she did.

The next room had two buildings in - one blue, one pink. Both of them looked like there was no one inside. Down a hallway to the right of the houses was a snail farm. Apart from the snails, there still was no one to get directions from, not that she'd have enjoyed talking to people, that is. The area was as still as a statue. Surely, she would die of starvation because she didn't want to talk to people.

However, as she turned to leave, she took a wrong step, walking straight into what felt like a puddle of hot, agonising, stinging lava. Her feet burned like she had stepped in acid, the fiery sensation slowly slithering up her body. "Argh!" She leapt back in an instant, staring down at whatever it was she'd wandered into. It, transparent and see-through, like the water she had seen before, appeared to be a crying ghost - a ghost that cried acid tears - lying on the ground, like rubbish. It's eyes flashed open and he sat upright, his cylindrical body bending in a way that made it look he even could sit. The plain, black headphones on his head must have been what kept him from detecting the presence of another person.

"Oh... I'm sorry..." he said, floating up to meet her gaze. His headphones somehow slid backwards and sat on the neck that he didn't have. "Was I in your way...?"

"Uh, no, no, it's okay. I was...not looking where I was going. It's my fault. Heh." Kirsty apologised, curling her toes in the grass, as if it would soothe her enough for every worry and pain to leave her.

"... Oh... Okay..." the ghost replied. "... Sorry..." He, whoever he was, watched her shuffling, connecting the dots quickly - or at least just assuming the worst. "... Oh... Did I hurt you...?"

"Hm? Er... Yeah... It was like fire or something..."

"Oh, I'm sorry... I did it again, didn't I...? When I cry, it hurts people... I understand if you hate me now..."

"N-no, I don't hate you. It was just an accident." Kirsty nodded. Hearing her stomach start to growl once again, she remembered why she had wandered off in the first place. "Uh, actually, I need your help with something."

"Oh, I don't think I could be able to help you with anything... I'm not good at helping people..."

"I-it's not that hard. I just need some food. I don't know where to get any, 'cause this is my first time coming here, and I don't have any monster currency anyway." she explained, showing the ghost what she had in her purse. The picture of her with her not-anymore-best-friends sent a shiver down her spine, and she shut it quickly, blushing slightly. "Maybe buying me some food could be your way of making it up to me?" she shrugged.

"Um... Okay... This way..." the ghost replied, flying off to a nearby shop.

"Thanks. Uh, my name's Kirsty, by the way. What's yours?" Kirsty asked.

"I'm Napstablook. I like your name, Kirsty." the ghost blushed.

Wait, could a ghost blush? Well, if he could, it would be incredibly faint, or even invisible, but if skeletons - beings that also did not have blood, therefore making it impossible for them to blush - could blush, then surely ghosts can too, right? Right. That's settled then. Napstablook blushed a incredibly faint blush at Kirsty's interest in him - an interest that he thought no one could possibly own.

"Thanks, Napsta." Kirsty giggled. "Er... I can call you Napsta, can't I?"

"Call me what you want. I don't really mind." Napsta smiled.

"Right, well, I'll call you Napsta then!" she chuckled, before entering Gerson's shop on the left.

"What can I get you, kiddies?" the turtle (or was he a tortoise?) asked, grinning.

His shop was an assortment of bits and bobs that he'd found - including a few gemstones, like rubies or emeralds, or just any old thing that looked in the least bit interesting (for example, a half broken ballerina music box had been put on a high shelf, playing a tranquil tune, and several necklaces and earrings of seashells). Unfortunately, as it was more of a large Lost And Found box than a shop (and food isn't really something you'd put in a Lost And Found box, unless you're doing it purely to prove me wrong, or just being stupid), there wasn't really much to choose from, food-wise. Nothing but a bunch of Crab Apples and a box of Sea Teas.

Kirsty looked all around the shop, believing that there must be more than just a few apples and good old fashioned, British tea, but said items were the only things she could find needed for her current situation. "Um, how much is the Crab Apple?" she asked.

"That's gold, sweetheart." Gerson answered.

"Uh... I don't have monster currency yet. Could you pay for me, please, Napsta?" Kirsty asked her ghostly friend, immediately thinking he'd say no, because she saw no pockets for him to keep his gold in.

"Oh. Sure." Napstablook replied. Suddenly, gold appeared out of nowhere, and Kirsty's apple was bought.

"Thanks for the purchase." Gerson passed the red, crab-looking fruit to the girl, sliding his money into a drawer under the counter. "Anything else?"

"Um... No thank you. Er, bye, mister." Kirsty said.

"Take care, kids." he said, as the pair left.

"How did you do that?" Kirsty asked, biting into the apple. It tasted like crab (of course), something she loved to eat on the surface. It looked like not everything from her old home was lost. Some things were the same, but only slightly different.

"Do what?" Napstablook questioned.

"That. The thing you did. How did you get the money? You don't look like you have pockets on your body."

"Oh... It's just magic." the ghost explained, floating back to his house.

"Oh... Right... Sorry." Kirsty sighed. "I haven't really gotten used to the whole magic thing yet. There really isn't that much of it on the surface."

"That's okay. You'll get used to it in time." Napstablook smiled.

The rest of the very short journey was without words. They reached the ghost's tall, blue house, and Kirsty asked if she could stay for lunch. She had always been interested in the supernatural and all the myths and legends told. In fact, it was that specific interest that led her down Mt Ebott in the first place. "I was in the town library one day, and I came across this book about myths and legends. I took it home and started reading it. It told me everything about the monsters. It was so detailed that I couldn't not believe it! I just had to see for myself. Was it really true? Were there really monsters underneath Mt Ebott?"

Her monologuing soon turned into venting, commas replacing full stops, only pausing for air, not to signify the end of a sentence. Being an introvert, she had quite a rough day yesterday, meaning that her nap time with Sans and her small solo adventure was just enough o refuel her for the rest of the day. This new burst of energy led her to putting a long essay that she had been working on in the back of her mind to be finally put into words. She needed to ramble to someone, and who better than Napstablook, the most self-aware, craving-to-appear-polite monster in the underground? He wouldn't interrupt her to save his life. People like him were a personal favourite of Kirsty's, and were most definitely worth cherishing.

This one way conversation continued in Napstablook's home: blue on the outside, red on the inside. A nice juxtaposition. A good representation of how you should never judge a book by its cover, showing that it doesn't matter what's on the outside, just as long as it's good on the inside. Or is it just a regular ghost house with nothing more to it? Who could tell? Certainly not me. Don't think I know everything, solely because I'm the narrator.

The building wasn't all that fancy or clean. He didn't expect company at all though, so why bother? It's not like he could catch a cold from all the dust that had built up there. A couple of spider webs had been constructed in the corners, revealing just how much he thought he didn't need to clean. Even a flyer for a Spider Bake Sale in Hotland was stuck in one - and when I say stuck, I mean stuck.

There was a stereo in the corner, with a few CDs lying next to it. It looked like the stereo was his favourite thing in the house, as it was never silent for long. In the left was a fridge (it didn't look like it was used for much; ghosts don't usually eat much) and at its side was a television - this (and the stereo) was clearly the most favoured out of all the things in his house.

A desk in the far corner held a mass of notes, and the old computer in the centre was opened to 'UnderNet' - a mix of Facebook and Tumblr, monster edition - on Napstablook22's profile.

Kirsty's spontaneous speech was cut short at the sight. "...because everyone thought that monsters were made up (y'know, to scare kids and that) but-... What's UnderNet?"

"UnderNet? Oh. It's just a social networking site for monsters." Napstablook explained, as his guest checked out the website.

"Cool... Can I get an account?" Kirsty asked, clicking at all the buttons and giggling at all the funny pictures and status updates made by other monsters.

"Oh. Sure. Do you want me to help?" said Napstablook.

"Yes, please."

She knew she was fully capable of doing it herself, but she also knew that Napstablook didn't look like he had a very high self esteem, judging by what kind of mood he was in when she found him and the dusty house he lived in, so she thought that she might as well help him think a little bit differently about himself (and it wasn't often she was a quick thinker; consequently, this act of kindness boosted Napstablook's confidence and her own, despite it being quite a small boost). And so, Napstablook and Kirsty had quite a good time at the ghost's house, both feeling like someone actually needed them.

Although Napstablook knew that Movie Star Mettaton needed him for his music, it felt more like a job - which it was - than sharing music with his family - which Mettaton was: a distant cousin (both literally and figuratively). However much he told him he adored him, he still rarely visited Napstablook; even though the dimly lit moon will never stop chasing the ever burning sun, solar eclipses are far from frequent. But then again, Mettaton was dedicated to his job, and his motto, "The show must go on, no matter what the cost" is just evidence of that. He never let anything get in the way of his show, not Napstablook, not Dr Alphys - the scientist who created him - no one.

This left Napstablook feeling very, very alone, abandoned and unwanted. Today was very different.

It felt like they'd spent an eternity together, listening to tunes, watching Mettaton's shows (he'd managed to record every episode of the show, clever ghost), and just having fun in general when Kirsty started talking about her time in the underground.

"So, today I wanted to explore Home, starting by going back to the Ruins and going up to the barrier from there." She loved talking to Napstablook. She didn't think she'd met anyone as quiet and polite as him. He listened so carefully to every little detail of her words. "I took a nap earlier, then I started to get hungry, and then I found you, so..." She gasped, beaming. "Wanna explore with me?"

"Oh, I-I'd love to." blushed Napstablook as Kirsty stood up.

"Great!" Kirsty said, walking out the door. "You don't have to go with me all the way to the barrier if you don't want to. I'm independent enough to go on my own."

"Alright. Let's go." Napstablook smiled, floating along to the east corridor.

The thunder of the rain caused Sans to wake. He groaned and opened the lids of his dark eye sockets to find that he had been left behind by his new friend, and without warning too. The skeleton sighed and got to his feet with a stretch, and began his search for the fascinated, eager human.

Kirsty and Napstablook had reached the Echo Flower garden. They were quite strange flowers. They seemed to be able to grow in the most odd places, as they (or rather, Kirsty, because Napstablook didn't really have feet to walk with) were trudging through one of the flooded hallways, but the attractive Echo Flowers and the glowing, golden dots that floated around gave the room an air of tranquility. The sound of footsteps echoed down the damp corridors, Echo Flowers joining in with the echoing without hesitation. Kirsty turned her head to face the sound, just as Sans entered her field of vision. "Oh!" she gasped, face-palming harder than she intended. "Cheese and peas! I'm such a goldfish! Sans! I'm sorry!"

"Kirsty...! Um... Goldfish?" Sans questioned, as Napstablook fronted him.

"Er... A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds." Kirsty explained. "I'm very good at being one of those. I'm too forgetful for my own good. I shouldn't have left you. I just got hungry."

"Oh. Is this your friend?" Napstablook asked. "Should I leave? I'll just make things more awkward. I guess I wasn't needed after all." Her started to float back to his home, but Kirsty managed to block his way.

"Er- wait! Don't leave yet! Could I...have your number?" She took her phone out from her coat pocket and started putting Blooky's name into her contacts.

"Oh! R-really...? Wow. Sure." Whatever he was expecting her to say, he could never have expected her to say anything along the lines of that. And at that, his phone magically appeared out of nowhere and the two of them exchanged numbers.

"Okay, bye, Napstablook!" Kirsty called, as her ghost friend left her and Sans. Sans, however, was staring, dumbfounded at the contacts list on the girl's phone:

MOM

DAD

JAS

ABI 3

BEN 3

EVE 3

BEV

JAMIE 3

VICKY 3

BLOOKY 3

"Uh... You got his number?" Sans questioned, finally finding his words.

"Yeah." Kirsty replied, putting her phone away. "What? Jealous? Haha! Oh, c'mon, brainless, we're just friends!" she laughed, taking the skeleton's cold hand and pulling him along to the next room. "Lets go. We've got a lot more ground to cover if we're gonna get to the barrier, haven't we?"

"Uh... Right. Yeah. Barrier..."


End file.
